Bulgaria’s president calls on government to resign

SOFIA, Dec 3 (Reuters) – Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev has called on the minority government of Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov to resign following mass protests this week against its 2026 budget.

The government on Tuesday withdrew the budget, following nationwide demonstrations against planned tax hikes to finance higher spending. It is the first budget drafted in euros before the European Union member state adopts the currency on January 1.

The budget crisis is the latest sign of political instability in the Balkan country, which has held seven elections in four years as a series of weak coalitions have fallen apart. The latest election was in October 2024, but the parliament only approved the cabinet in January after months of negotiations. 

“Bulgaria needs a real change that will lead to the rule of law and the restoration of statehood and that is something that the current governing coalition cannot achieve,” Radev said in a nationwide address on the state broadcaster BNT on Tuesday evening.

He said the protests on Monday have shown that the government has failed to meet the people’s expectations and should resign immediately. 

“An early election is the only way forward,” Radev said.

Bulgaria, the poorest member of the European Union and one of its most corrupt states, needs political stability to speed up the uptake of EU funds into its creaking infrastructure.

Radev, an independent candidate who is serving his second term as president, which is a largely ceremonial role, has criticised the GERB-party-dominated government for years, accusing it of corruption.

The opposition Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) told Reuters it would file a no-confidence motion in the government on Friday and organise a new protest next week, when it expects the parliament to debate the move. That would be the sixth no-confidence vote the government has faced since it took office in January. 

The ruling coalition rejected calls for the government to resign, with Boyko Borissov, the president of the ruling GERB party, warning of possible ensuing “chaos” with skyrocketing prices after Bulgaria adopts the euro.

The government did not respond to Reuters calls for comment.

(Reporting by Georgi Slavov and Daria Sito-Sucic, additional reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Sharon Singleton)